Final Fantasy 16: Clive’s Mother Revealed

Clive’s mother in Final Fantasy XVI is the antagonist, Anabella Rosfield. She is an important part of not only Clive’s character arc but also of the progression of the game. Let’s learn everything about her!

Who is Clive’s Mother?

First introduced in the flashback sequence at the very beginning of the game, it is revealed to the players that Clive’s mother is Anabella Rosfield. In spite of her behavior making it unbelievable for the players to accept it truly, Clive’s mother is indeed the antagonistic character.

Anabella Rosfield, An Introduction

Her story during the flashback sequence can be broken down into three distinct parts, which helps the players better understand Anabella’s character.  Anabella weds Elwin, who is the Archduke of the kingdom of Rosaria. The marriage took place in order to produce a Dominant who would rule the Phoenix, an Eikon of fire. 

Anabella’s only interest was to gain power at all costs. To gain power, she betrays her husband and the country of Rosaria. She decides to join the Holy Empire of Sanbreque under terms that would make her the ruler and ensure Joshua’s protection.

She had no affection for Clive and had actively disowned him. As a result of her treachery, Rosaria’s army gets destroyed by the hands of The Holy Empire, which also leads to Joshua’s demise. Even though Joshua’s death does not seem to faze her, the thing that upsets her is the loss of the Eikon. 

The Reason Behind Her Cruelty

Where she fulfils the role of a good mother for Joshua, Clive is met with cruelty and disdain. The question might arise, why make one feel loved and not the other? The answer lies here; The Phoenix, The Eikon of Rosaria, which has been inherited by members of the Rosfield family for generations. Despite being the first born son, Clive was refused by the Phoenix as a host, and Joshua was chosen as a Dominant instead.

This failure to be chosen by the Phoenix makes Anabella lose respect for her child and grows indifferent towards him. His becoming a soldier is not deemed worthwhile by his mother and she accuses Clive of having disgraced their noble blood. Because of this, she considered Clive to be a failure and concentrated all of her efforts on raising Joshua. All she wished was for Joshua and her to live so that she could use him to advance in the Holy Empire of Sanbreque.

She also sentenced Clive to slavery on account of being a failure. Since she was unaware of the fact that Clive was a second Eikon of Fire, she believed that enslaving him would prevent him from hindering with her ambitions to increase her dominance inside the Holy Empire. Although the mother-son relationship is rooted in tragedy, but the question as to who Clive’s mother is in this edition of Final Fantasy is answered; Anabella Rosfield is the mother of Clive.

Although Anabella’s character might be unlikable, it cannot be denied that the game excels at providing the players with a nuanced character and indulges the player in a complex and tragic backstory of a mother and son. 

That’s it for this one, If you want more guides on Final Fantasy do check out:

Summing Up

well I am assuming that your reaction must be same as mine after reading it and yes Anabella turns out to be his mother. That is one of the biggest twists so far for me but let me know about your reaction or experience as I would love to hear from you all.

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